It is unusually dark in the Hamburg Congress Center these days. Lighting has been dimmed to a minimum in a space normally lit by thousands of bright lights. The 12,000 attendees of the 33rd Chaos Communication Congress - most, dyed-in-the-wool computer experts - apparently feel more at home in the dark. Once a year, hackers from around the world meet at the conference to exchange new ideas and to share their experiences.
One topic that has preoccupied the scene for years is that of data security, and the efforts of governments to peer into citizens' computers and cellphones. This year, discussions are being driven by recent violence in Berlin: The terrorist truck attack at a Christmas market in the German capital and the suspected attempted murder of a homeless man by a group of youths have ignited a debate over increased surveillance.
How can authorities stop potential attackers?
The Christian Social Union (CSU), Bavarian sister party to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), for instance, wants to allow authorities to surveil and monitor citizens as young as 14 years old if there are grounds to suspect they may be potential attackers. The CSU also received approval for its proposal of arresting and deporting foreigners if they are prepared to take violent action against the state - even if they have yet to commit a crime. In order to discern who is planning potential attacks, surveillance of telephone calls, e-mails and short text messages is to be expanded.
Automatic surveillance has failed
Symbolbild für Abhören von Handys
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DW/A. Drechsel)
Authorities want to listen in to mobile phones
Many visitors at the Hamburg hacker conference view these plans with skepticism. Frank Rieger is a spokesperson for the organizers. It is clear to him - despite current events - that "the automatization of surveillance has failed." Video surveillance, says Rieger, does not stop crime. Instead, criminals simply move to areas that are not monitored, or perpetrators cover their faces. More safety can only be brought about by putting more security personnel "on the street."
FBI hacking computers around the world
The question of whether law enforcement is playing by the rules in its pursuit of criminals is also an issue that occupies hackers. Journalist Joseph Cox, for instance, is convinced that laws are being broken. At the Hamburg conference, Cox showed attendees how the US domestic intelligence agency, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), overstepped established boundaries in busting a virtual child pornography ring.
Some two years ago, authorities identified the operators of the child pornography platform "Playpen," and took control of its server in February 2015. The FBI was given a court order allowing the agency to upload Trojans onto the computers of those who visited the site. The FBI sought to use these to determine the location of pedophiles accessing "Playpen." Cox said that the court had only given permission for one particular district in the US. But the FBI investigated some 8,700 locations in 120 countries, later notifying local law enforcement of its findings. "Child pornography is one of the most disgusting crimes there is, and it must be prosecuted," said Cox. "But those who rightly want to pass new laws, must also abide by existing laws." Cox garnered loud applause for his demand.
